Fire-extinguishing composition having a low freezing-point.



intense.

GEORGE E. FERGUSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB TO PYRENE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FIRE EXTINGUISHING COMPOSITION HAVING A LOW FREEZING-POINT.

No Drawing.

To-aZZ whom it mayiconcern: 7

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. FERGUSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Extinguishing Composition Having a Low Freezing-Point, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to produce a composition, suitable for use in extinguishing fires, which will be characterized by a low freezing point; and, further, to produce a fire extinguishing composition in which the fire extinguishing substance thereof acts as a solvent for the substance whose inclusion produces the low freezing point. Carbon tetrachlorid has been selected as illustrative of a solvent possessing fire extinguishing properties and capable of acting as the solvent for the substance whose inclusion produces the low freezing point The extensive uses to which carbon tetrachlorid is put, make it desirable to lower its normal freezing point (which in the chemically pure state is 19.5 C.) to permit its use in temperatures where extreme cold weather prevails; that it may be utilized as a liquid and at the same time maintain all of its useful properties.

With this in mind, I have performed a large number of experiments to ascertain if some underlying principle can be made to govern this depression of the freezing point.

It is a well known fact that, considering inorganic compounds and the inorganic solvents, that the depression of the freezing point depends upon the solubility of the salts used and the degree of dissociation which takes place when these salts are dis solved in the solvent (which solvent, in most cases, is water).

The laws governing the depression of the freezing point for electrolytes are simple:

1. The freezing point of a solution is lower than that of the pure solvent.

2. The depression of the freezing point is proportional to the concentration of the solution.

llf f degrees be the depression produced by the presence of p grams of sub- Specification of Letters ratent.

Patented June 25, 1918.

stance in 100 grams of the solvent, then the molecular depression (where m is the molecular weight of the dissolved substance).

These laws do not hold good in the depression of the freezing point of carbon tetrachlorid. A good example of this is in the solution of a compound like azobenzene (C H N C H which is very soluble in carbon tetrachlorid. When this substance is added the result is a higher freezing point than that of the carbon tetrachlorid alone, and the more azo compound dissolved the higher the freezing point.

When a number of such experiments were tried and no principle could be established, it was decided to try out all the common cially possible substances which could be dissolved in carbon tetrachlorid, to ascertain which would depress the freezing point. It was found that among the great variety of compounds tried out about 150 accomplished the desired result.

It is understood that some of these compounds would prove detrimental to the use of carbon tetrachlorid under certain conditions while they might prove very acceptable under others.

To simplify the list, it was thought best to classify these substances under different chemical groups, such as, (l) esters and others; (2) amins and amino compounds; (3) aldehydes and ketones; l) alcohols; (5) oils; (6) hydrocarbons, substitutes and derivatives; (7) phenols and phenol derivatives; (8) terpenes, camphors and (9) acids, etc.

About the only generality which can be made in regard to all this investigation is the fact that most compounds which are in the liquid state at normal (room) temperature and which are soluble in carbon tetrachlorid, lower the freezing point of the carbon tetrachlorid, and vice versa, most of the compounds which are solid at normal temperature and soluble in carbon tetrachlorid do not lower the freezing point but in most 109 (monobromated) cases raise it. There are, however, enough exceptions to this generality to render it impossible of general application as a rule.

In this investigation no attempt was made to determine the quantity of substance dissolvedin a known amount of solvent to produoe an observed depression of the freezing tests in each class of compounds with commercially possible examples in each class. What future developments may be made toward the reduction of the cost of a number of' the expensive compounds, thus rendering the same commercially possible, is

problematical but my experiments and tests show that it is possible to generalize in these different classes or divisions.

It is not to be taken for granted that only the liquid compounds will accomplish the de sired result, as I found a number of other compounds which were solids which were just as effective, for example: camphor, menthol, terpene-hydrochlorid, etc.

Four hundred and thirty experiments were performed, the substances selected being from the chemical catalogues. All of the organic substances costing one dollar or less per ounce were tried-as it was considered that these compounds, from the stand point of cost, would be commercially possible. It was found that a great many of these compounds were insoluble in carbon tetrachlorid and therefore eliminated themselves from the investigation.

What I claim is 1. A fire extinguishing composition hav:

ing a low freezing point, comprising a noninfiammablesolvent and a camphor substitution product dissolved therein.

2. A fire extinguishing composition having a substantially lower freezing point than the fire extinguishing substance thereof and comprising carbon tetrachlorid and a camphor substitution product dissolved therein.

Signed at the city, county and State of New York, this 8th day of Oct, 1914.

GEORGE E. FERGUSON. Witnesses:

HAROLD W. CHAPMAN, LEWIS J. DooLIT'rLE. 

